Pioneer

Concerning Political Action. A Reply to Mark Starr. PAGE 3.

Absolute and Entire Disarmament. I DR. SALTER, J.P., AT MERTHYR. Ji THE MEANING OF THE ATTITJUDE OF I CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTORS. was taken of the visit of Dr. Salter, j of &rmondsev to Merthyr in connection  on Sat-LLi-- I-4'y, the N"C" did"ional convention on Satm". ?' ? Persua,de hIm to stay over Sunday and r a a U -ess a Rink audience. Dr; Salter. is the Postle of the no force Pacinsm disarma- ment entire and immediate would be his remedv fll-r the evils of militarism, and it was with great ih? ?rest, but not entire agreement.!hat a b)? 8,,Idi"" Q, O followed liis e,?,position on Sunday a f tei-- ??dience *0^mv0^ ^is exposition on Sunday after- NlrW ? T h omas, Dow la is. occupied I' h4.' J. Thomas) Dowlms) (}CcUp1e t 10 (.|!a ??d a resolution was moved by Mr. Bert B^ r 'K -VR demanding, in view of the. amnesty to  lrish rebels, that a similar amnesty should declared for English political offenders. Mr. ? obyn instanced many recent cases of harsh t> ea 'lent' C.O., in the course of his fine I st>i*n lno"ng the resolution. Mr. J. Row- ?D?T???condedin a well thought out S!??e? cb_, and (}{fDr. ^Iter, supporting, said that the political ?n? "? to whom the resolution had reference tyer JQung men, and the SP'?? majority of them ?bo???a.d ? been the most active, the most earnest a.; 10S^ energetic and the most sacrificing attion social, industrial and political ?or) -??.? ??' ?'?pective nations. (Cheers.) .,UloIlgst thse men there were scores and hun- '?red? ? i ? the comin8 years, were going to ?ccu?n Positions of commanding importance in  Ustrial ?? social ?'?'?- When these ,IJen (?aiiie, before the public asking for their suf- "fÏd and their confidence, the credentials that ?b?h"? ?? them votes would be that they had '^n to pnson in defence of the right of the in- divifi, ?? the liberty of conscience. The c0uirttJ, L^0ple this country were beginning tO 1? J^at men countrv were beginning con?? ? ?? "Mn m defending liberty of H??our? ????? the basis of all liberty. I T,tiroiigh 6+ik Whole A»tory of man it had who had been the *ea] otflrtm ?f J'beiU Not cn!v wer? .th herel t cp '2' !):c'tUJjIlr,t". l")"7U.Ç ¡I' lll-. Vent wr' ^fP%h- nT ? bi- Orelit wol?tIOf these men, but many who were j in the lgh places were beginning to feel like 1 i?ls was in a devil of a mess at the pre- tell, i and whether things were right or 1,thng" the reason was because men wanted tbelh &ioil ?? ?rong. The doctrine of human respon- | was what ? was out to preach. (Cheers.) ?0?? ? ^ro8e in history when men seemed to have ?o 1"? way ?? advance along the old lines. ?he '1' a^v'am'e possible was by revolution—by ? on J advance possIble wa by revo),ubon-. y ^hifK he meant exactly what John the Baptist Shalit by" Ipen tence think differently." Sham '????? consisted of barricades, the ^clri»1S houses, and nonsense of that kind. ? ?? ? had reached one of those epochs when ^v»Ttr.^ V^ o. nly possible by revolution as he an'A-a?s Only Pos,iibl,e bv revolution as he ?S?-?' ?'?ence for this he found in ?st 'iN1+ 'n- :'i Position in England during the £It t tl I h. h t Wo tlire Years-- during which time the '?-o?i? of machinery tended by girls and ?sidll ,vV°i'kevs had made a return to pre-war ?Qdir w.orkers had made a. retuTn t? prw8:r ticltl?ng Impossible' in the illternatlOnal-poh- b'\h"ttl1ation which' had been entirelv altered cy tb? "auction of the old policy of the < <no&- f h balan(-?''Power; by the abolition of the theory by thp ? '???ce of America in European poli- ties T, something much more signincant, LV ta 'son-t(?tliin_ much more si,-nificant, by |hf» ^rence of America in Europt?n poli- tics • ■j/ home the old constitutional guarantees -1.'ere gone, and "?? only that but the ? Po!? ? ?? party landmarks had been complete- ly SWo|Pt away. But the most far-reaching dis- aNvay. But the most fa.r-i-e, ic h ing dis- tiovel? (Ir ?? was that the work of the nation 1:l1 11 done by half the total number of people h D oyed; that 6,000,000 of the most skilful, <t'r(r" t. ld b ela,L, "Itil ??? strongest of the workers could be ?thd?.? from production and turned into mere W 8\1111e1'8 and destroyers and still the work  .} .1 d W^ent °\,ust ?he same, and profits were piled up ta,, han ??'- This surely should teach the be 1>le the lesson that if all had work there would bb ur-,ibllndance of material wealth for all; h a.hundance/ that its consumption would be ?P'hv-Tim??p?os?sib?i?li? ty. Instead of talking about ^'i'liniv/Iri wages of 30s. a week and an eight- tto? a thin]- GaF, we had learned that we ought not to I 0fiiiininiiiin in terms of less than Ll a ?ay; _? eight-hour day policy was wrong «eca\,8„ l ?'? we IH'opedv organised on a scien- oC" ld ??o r.,?. P?'?tive basis the work of the world LQtlld r. Th J done in hours a a day or less. (Cheers.) r*hat as the revolutionarv outlook that we J1: ??' (Cheers.) -L16'nel'tü  worl d had a l ways thou,??ht of ^ac as "the world had aways though of l¡llt it ha 11ethlng bad, somethmg to be avoided, but it ha!]' ne on preparing for war because it believei] ttom that something useful and vaiuah],1 be Obtainedbv force. What the ?oiiscieQ??? bv force. What the ?s to t?? ^e°tor had done an d WM doing Xvas T(» Tta'ch ?e people that fighting between l^opj^. Was ??V wrong and foolish, but that -V wrong an d foolish, but that ?'on? .} '?"? on the material, plane were ? the i?- "?"sh. He had stood for the right ()f his ownH Idua to follow the light and leading ? ?is oJ? ?science. The highest national ser- i'Ce was t^ r what ?ll believed to be right, and ?use ci t? ?? the  objector was conscientious objector was ??inrr +At.? ? -? ? ?M of National Service pos- bi A n.d i- n ,Iddition to that negative side the ?-?. ha?d ?Tn.T? a. Positive philosophy of Paci-  T? of' ? ? not bettter to have done ^tli the tw oT rvf > OTC £ Aether, and ? extend Se band foil ??  to the 1'4iid Of fc-IlowshiP and co mradeship to the of h;„ nKii^c^ ??" ?? the underlying mean- ?S of d&m.. .?S? ?dpo,itton-absolute and  L }" f I h'l isa-riyt?a-iiient ?'? ? abolition of the phil- ^phv of fvT,rrcr-eA ? fTOever- (Cheers.) tn ^riss n ls^a^. (^J°nd°n) also a ddressed the ^^ting on the a .to on on) also addressed the POJl Ion of the C.O. e resolutIOn was passed unaRimously.

The Miners' Leaders and The Clique. I TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Experience is the great teacher of man- kind. He who fails to learn the lesson taught by experience will not learn, If the accusations that are made against the- unfortunate clique who attempted to mend the Federation Rules are right, they prove that these people can't learn, or that they act contrary to the knowledge they possess, as the majority of them are men with a considerable experience in trade union matters. Such people ought to 'be dealt with in the same manner as that meted out to the exiled monarch of Russia they ought to be the subjects (if our Keenest observations. But I have some suspicion that these accusa- tions are not .based on facts but blind official prejudice, jealous of their authority; and that the real issue is not the welfare of the Federa- tion, but Nioio is going to control it. Is it going +- 1. "-h_,L_.11- _1 1 .1 LU Ute: WULTUIIeu oy tne men or their leaders? I Tyranny and autocracy are much the same what- ever names they may be called, to use fascinating names like disciplined trade-unionism," will not change autocracy. Mark the similarity of these words written by a miners' leader and that of Lord Rhondda on the same subject. The miners' leader says: We want strong, dis- ciplined, united Trade Unionism." So does the general with his army on the bat- tle-field, but such a thing can't be called demo- cracy. Lord Rhondda savs (and that more than three years ago) that: Much could be done, if the forces of labour were well organised, and so strengthened that' each federation could enforce discipline within its own ranks." The miners' leader is not the pioneer in the discipline doc- trine to trade-unions. This is an old advice of the capitalist; and I have some idea that to act on this ad vice has not always proved advantage- ous to the workers. WTiile discipline may be an important element in the working of any organi- sation, it is quite undesirable when it is dictated from official heads 01; advised from the capitalist quarters. Why is the same accusation levelled agmn st every one who dares to disagree with the leaders? To refuse the combing-out inspections ?,?"?'? .??? between us and the TjJLrSr .trr. .«B., wfhi. ch would ram our union. An un- official executive, we are rold, "would have headed straight for dibsolmion and anarchy," but we are not told how it is that some unions have sailed quite clear of those rocks with only an unofficial executive. What is really the matter with our leaders is that they are under delusions regarding the nature of their calling. They seem to imply that the Federation is the result of their efforts, and not of those of the rank and file, and particu- larly that section that has been' called "the clique." If there is any credit due at all for the Federation, it is due to the clique and not to the miners' leaders. It is the clique which fought with its own class and colliery officials to get iiieii to o the iiieni lxr ?he men to join, the members of the cliques were the fanatics and the dangerous persons in every col- liery. They were the people who had to suffer to build up the union. I am old enough to re- member all the struggles of the non-unionists strikes. Who were the men that took part in them, "the cliques," or the miners' leaders? I have a record before me of some scores of these struggles and the men who took part in them; and that without any strike pay or any other payments. I find that I could have a very nice holiday this summer if I only had a few shillings for every day that I stopped out on the non- unionist question. I should like to know how many days the leaders have been without their pay in any strike To accuse the cliques of having in their minds any idea of destroying the Federation is equal to accuse a mother of trying to murder her own child. And that is, by the way, my complaint against the leaders, not that they disagree with the cliques, but that they ac- cuse us of bad motives whenever we disagree with them. That and the way they take advan- tages to prejudice the rank and file, is the worst aspect of leadership in South Wales. Whenever they want to say anything to the miners they always take as their medium the Capitalist's press. It would be quite as logical for them to go a step further and use the colliery manager to carry out their instructions to the men. There can be no more excuse for a. labour leader to use the capitalist press to speak to the workers, than there is to use their platform. I believe that the time has come when all matters of trade unions and labour questions should be dealt with in the labour press. I don't know what the objections may ba from the leader's stand- point unless he is afraid that he will lose his dignity and prestige with the public," or is he afraid that John Bradbury will not pay him a visit from the Labour press. In. any case I should like to see him stating liis objections AnWEL. I

The Case of Mr. John Maclean TO BE RELEASED ON LICENCE. Mr. H. A. Watt (L—Glasgow) asked in the House of Commons on Monday whether the Secretary for Scotland would now consider the advisability of liberating from gaol Johii Mac- Lean, a graduate of Glasgow and a school teacher by profession, who had been imprisoned for iiioi-e, than a year under the Defence of the Realm Act for making speeches of an inflamma- tory character, in view of the fact that prisoners of other nationalities were being released whole- sale by order of the Government. Mr. Munro (Secretary for Scotland) said that MacLean had now served more than half of the normal term for which he would be under deten- tion. He had come to the conclusion, having regard to all the circumstances and in particular to the possible effect of continued imprisonment upon MacLean's health, that he was justified in sanctioning his early release on licence.

PLEASE MENTION THE PIONEER WHEN ANSWERING ADVERTS. I

I Further Educational Activity in the Aberdare Valley. WALTON NEW80LD, M.A., AT ABERAMAN FOR A WEEK. I There finished at Aberamaa last Sunday afters- noon a. series of six lectures provided by the Aberdare Miners' District for its members, and also free and open to all bona fide trade union- ists. This series arose out of a desire on the part of the District Education Sub-Committee to further aid the students of the successful, winter classes. And it was at the suggestion of the stu- dents—made through their unofficial league-—■ that the lecturer was engaged. Despite the hot weather, and the small appeal to the average worker of such educational efforts, the series was aa unmitigated success; the at- tendance and interest were maintained through- out. The hearty co-operation of the Agent and the Sub-Agent, Mr. Owen PoweM and Mr. Illtyd Hopkins, was appreciated. The lecturer, too, deserves praise tor tne matter and form of his lectures. Mr. Newbold had a college trailing with a profession in view, won his degree in economic and Roman history, and ha. since adopted the proletarian spectacles in a not half- hearted fashion. He began on Monday night with "The Be, ginnings of Capitalism," and on the following night he dealt with the growth of Capitalism in South Wales during the Industrial Revolution. Most persons, even if they possess only a slight smattering of Scientific Socialism, are familiar with the general development of Capitalism. But Newbold, by painstaking research, has equipped himself with particular knowledge as to local de- velopments and the names of the various men, companies, inventions and localities concerned trip from his tongue in rapid succession. From his encyclopaedic, store, he is wonderfully able toi fill in the usual theoretical outline with real men and groups of men. The oldest inhabitant scarcely knows more about his particular ^jillage than does this stranger. On Wednesday night The Economic Basis of Imperialism" was the topic. An explanation was sought for the modern world-wide aggressive- ness of nations. The economic basis of Free Trade and its disappearance with the coming of powerful competitors, the factors forcing capi- talism to be a civilising agency, the advantages acting as an incitement to the growth of large production, the development of shipping and en- g*neeung, and the railways up country in foreign pmipcssions ne-edmg (?pr??t b?ki? and protectIOn-these were some of the points touch- ed upon. Then the sorry tale of the British oc- cupation of Egypt was told and the reasons be- hind it exposed. Other similar instances were given in different parts of the globe. Capitalism is faced by two problems: how to get its raw materials, coal, oil, iron-ore, etc., and how to dispose of its surplus product. As all the nations develop, competition must inevitably become fiercer and labour costs become reduced to a ,minimum in order that endless exports can be sold cheaper. What is thet worker going to say and do in view of it all? The Greatness and Decline of Lioeralism" was ably described in Thursday night's lecture. Those who have read the lecturer's The Politics of Capitalism". (B.S.P., Id.) will not doubt his competency to deal with this subject. By using local names, he showed how the Radical iron- masters were at one time opposed to the older Conservative land masters and stood for Free Trade; then, how the new aristocracy fused with the old, changed its attitude to the Navy when the modern iron floating machine came into being and how in modern times it has adopted Militarism fervently and has' forgotten its old cry of "Free Trade, peace, retrenchment and reform." Mr. Newbold was more than ever at home with his Friday night lecture on Armaments," upon which he is a recognised authority. The uneon, vinced should read How Europe Armed for War (1/3). Iron and steel goods do not wear out so quickly as textiles; rails, for example, have a life of fifteen years. So after having ex- hausted home and foreign markets, capitalism in its iron and steel phase found a safety valve in the armaments industry. Thé" woodèn walls of England were displaced by the steel warship. Various chemical discoveries perfected in turn the armour plate and the projectile. The great shipyards could not be allowed to be idle and so under the disguise of finding work for men, the shipyard owners foisted ever-increasing ship- building programmes upon their respective gov- ernments by means of bogus scares. The super- tax, as well as the death duties was swallowed by the Super-Dreadnought. German and Ameri- can parallels were given. In search for their Holy Grail, i.e., profits, the armament mongers joined themselves together and formed a huge international octopus ever clutching mankind closer. The final lecture was "Labour and the Future." While the many are sacrificed for the few Labour cannot rest. The tortures of devel- opment should not, however, rouse an anarchis- tic wish to destroy all; but rather should make us examine closely the laws of development and help us to profit by the lessons so painfully learnt. The present war with its destruction of the 11 one (man business," its hastening of the concentration of industry, and its revelation in regard to the true nature, of the State has de- stroyed Revisionism and confirmed the truth of the Marxian theories. In spite of welfare work and co-partnership, by getting cheap production Iat all costs, by gratifying the export lust, by I utilising more than ever mechanical, chemical, and technical skill, by adopting the speeding-up of Scientific Monagement, by blindly worship- ping its god Output, capitalism in the future ping will force Labour into militancy. After pro- phesying an increase of the noble army of "agent provocateurs," the lecturer referred to the W.E.A., and the old and new universities with their predjudice against Socialist men and teaching. As the capitalist class needed new colleges to delop technical science, so the I workers H IU t vide their own system of edu- cation to provide independent, working class education. The future is with the industrial or- ganisations with their political and educational wings. Undoubtedly the series of lectures will give a lillip to the winter classes. The students and friends are grateful to the Aberdare district for putting such a good example for other districts to follow. (It is somewhat maddening to think of the C.L.C. being closed and men like Mr. W. W. Craik prevented from being useful to the workers in critical times like these.) In conclu- sion, they who have enjoyed the services of Mr. Newbold hope that he will safely emerge from the slight operation he has to undergo, and on some future occasion again conduct such another beneficial effort. M.S.

Merthyr Trades Council. I FURTHER PROTEST AGAINST TUPPER I AND THE SEAMEN. A POSSIBLE LOOP-HOLE FOR EVASIONS OF SUGAR ORDER. The National Council of Civil Liberties re- quested the Merthyr Trades Council on Thurs- day to adopt the following resolution anent the Macdonald-Jowett affair: "That this meeting protests against the attempt of Cgpt.' Tupper and the Seamen's and Firemen's Union to pre- vent Mr. Ramsay Macdonald. M.P., and his col- league from sailing for Russia to confer as in- vited with the representatives of the Russian de- mocracy. It also protests against an entirely false account circulated by £ Capt.' Tupper of the incidents connected with his speech at Leeds and his attempt to show that the Leeds Conference betrayed any lack of sympathy with the widows and children of the victims of su b- marine warfare." The resolution, which is to be sent to the Prime Minister and Mr. Bonar Law was adopted unanimously. The recommendation of the Executive Commit- tee to accede to the request of the Belgian Ar- tists' Committee to organise in the town a con- cert in aid of the funds to provide holidays in Holland to needy Belgian children met with ac- crimonious opposition from Mr. John Williams (Heolgerrig). His objection was that there were thousands of youngsters in this country whoi were in want of holidays and change of air to recuperate their health, and until the require- ments of our own children in this direction had been seen to he could not reconcile himself to the necessity of making such provision for the Belgians!- 'r- Mr. W. liarns (secretary) iavouring the Executive Committee's recommendation, said although it was quite true thousands of British youngsters had perforce to go holidayless these Belgian children were in worse circumstances now than our own. As fr. Williams had raised on a point of order perhaps the undertaking was without the scope of the Trades Council as far as rules WQre concerned, but living in strange times lie did not think they should cut matters of rule so fine. Mr. Harry Evans, moving the adoption of the recommendation, said the council should not take up a dog in the manger attitude in the matter—that because our kiddies were. by cir- cumstances denied holidays, others should also. The motion was adopted. The proceeds of the concert, which will be held about September, will, it was reported, all (less bare expenses and £ 1 each to the five artistes) go to the funds of the organisation. The secretary read out a list of the latest maximum retail prices sent to him from the Food Controller's Department: Wheat 78/- per 480 lbs.; barley 65/- per 400 lbs.; oats 55/- per 312 lbs.; maize flour, or flakes and similar sub- stitutes, 4d. per lb.; oatmeal 5 J per IT)., choco- late 3d. per oz.; and sweetmeats of any kind 2d. per oz. Mr. Marris brought up a disquieting point about sugar. He said that when the Govern- ment sanctioned 3d. per lb. as the price of seed potatoes all eating potatoes on the market at Ifd. disappeared; now there wa& an order for jamming sugar at 7d. and 7,]Ld. per lb., and he was afraid that directly it came into operation kitchen sugar would vanish. He had asked the Food Controller's Department for information on sugar prices. It was not included on the list. He would write again. (Laughter.) Mr. Sam Jennings (president) gave a detailed report, chock full of interest, and the Leeds conference, to which he was the council's dele- gate. The invitation from the Welsh Industrial Un- rest Commission, which is being sent out to all Labour bodies, by the Secretary, Mr. Edgar Chappell, was received and the Secretary (Mr. W. Harris) was instructed to forward the fol- lowing reply: —. Secretary Commission on Industrial Unrest, < H Law Courts, Cardiff. Dear Sir,—Our Council discussed your circu- lar. inviting evidence. I was instructed to answer tlmf. +.T10 rWinml wane nf the iiiianii-rioii- o-nininy, V.I.V 'l..I\&V' -r- (1) That too many commissions were roving about the kingdom; (2) That money, time and energy were being wasted; (3) That in this case yourself and Mr. Ver- non Hartshorn knew our opinion well, see- ing that both of you have been preaching for many years on the platform and through the Press that the unrest was caused by the fact that the means of dis- tribution, exchange and wealth were owned by the favoured few. "Yours sincere!v. (Signed), W.- HAITRIS, Secretary.

FOR NEXT WEEK. We are unfortunately compelled to hold up, amongst other things, an interesting account of the splendid Miners' Demonstration at Amman- ford la st Saturday, when over 5,000 workers en- thusiastically rallied to the call of Social Demo, cracy. We have preferred to follow this course rather than mutilate our representatives ac- count. It will appear in full next week, to- gether with an interesting letter we have re- ceived from our Comrade Maasel Grenfell from Kinmel Park. «

I Colliery Rating Exposed. BY T. 1. MARDY JONES, F.R.E.S. I (Review by Mr. Noah Tromans, Member Assess- ment Committee, Pontypridpl Union.) This is the first publication issued by the South Wales Association of Labour Members and is ob- tainable from all booksellers or from trades union secretaries at 4d. nett. "he Association itself is the outcome of the' effort to ^pro- mote a propaganda against the listing anoma- lies of colliery and cottage rating. For the past five years Mr. Mardy Jones has been in close touch with the Labour members on the Assessment Committees of most Unions in South Wales on this question, and he haa made excellent use of the data these members placed at his disposal, in the pamphlet under re- view. The work is replete with startling dis- closures of the tactics adopted by the Coalowners to escape their fair share of the common burden of local rates. Actual instances as typical of the very general under-assessment of coal-mines; and of large power stations, wagon works, and like adjuncts to collieries that escape separate assess- ment. Instances are also given of somei nine more or less serious defects prevalent in most parts of the coalfield, in the existing methods of rating. These are effectively exposed, and the remedy is clearly outlined in a set of practical proposals' that carry weight and are bound to be enforced once public opinion is thoroughly aroused. Interesting information is given of the terms of the leases held by the Blaenavon Coal Company from the Marquis of Abergavenny for the largest eoal estate in the United Kingdom-including a condition that the Marquis must be supplied with a certain quantity of free coal. This coal stipu- lated for in this and in similar leases elsewhere escapes all local rates—another instance of the enormous power of landlordism. Another striking item is the comparison made between the different tonnage rates charged by the Bedwellty Union on the Monmouth side, and by the Merthyr Union on the Glamorgan side for coal raised from the pits of the Powell Duffryn Coal Company and of the Rhymney Iron and Coal Company situated in the Rhymney Valley. One of these Unions gets thousands of pounds more than the other in rates from these pits al- though the coal worked in both Unions is from the same coal-seams, is worked at the same cost, and is sold at the same price per ton on the mar- ket. Similar disparities are disclosed for too Pontypridd and Bridgend Union areas; whilst other anomalies are, disclosed. as prevalent in several Unions in the Antiaiacke coal districts. a 11 -!ii 1 4-1*«+- XI. IUle lllU l:rU\liv.l1 01 UOIMILHJ. X LR V isilli- .u gleaned from the appeal case of Nixon's Coal Company against the Pontypridd Union at Quarter Sessions in 1915 and 1916. The work proves that Nixon's on their own evidence, were paying about one-half what they should have paid to local rates. The large profits Nixon's made in 1913 are also given, with the actual royalties paid, and the valuation of the capital invested in the Deep Duffryn, Navigation, and Cwm Cynon pits. Every workman employed at these pits should read this disclosure and think furiously thereon. Again, the Appeal case of D. David and Sons, Ltd., against the Pontypridd Union on the ques- tion of the separate assessment of the large electricity station erected at Tylorstown is full of most useful information. For the ca se went up to two Courts of Law and the judgments given in the case are fully quoted as they have a most important bearing upon the powers of As- sessment Committees. The tonnage rates and the rating practice in every Union in the coalfield are also explained and no essential feature of the subject is over- looked. But for the actual facts and figures the reader must, in fairness, read the pamphlet it- self. And it is well worth reading. For it is by far the most lucid exposition of this puzzling sub- ject yet written. The best-informed members of Assessment Committees will profit from it, the man in the street will appreciate and understand it, and the student of Economics and of Local Government will find it a boon. No review can do justice to the completeness and compactness with which every essential historical, legal, and economic feature of the subject is expounded. At the same time it gives facts and figures due weight and place when exposing the existing met.hods of rating; whilst the statement of the rating reforms required is definite and thorough. As one who has done his" little bit" to ex- pose the defects and to point out the remedy I congratulate Mardy Jones on his masterly treat- ment of this very technical and little understood subject. I hope every trades union branch will purchase copies for distribution to members with- out delay; and that Labour members will urge their local authorities to do likewise. The pamphlet is destined to become the Charter of Rating Reform in South Wales, and the next local elections will be largely fought upon the programme which it outlines. It will also prove an effective factor in the next general election for Parliament. No time must be lost in educat- ing public opinion upon this vital issue and this little treatise is the best medium to our hands. Let us use it to the full.

Educational Reconstruction. SATURDAY'S W.E.A. CONFERENCE. It is obvious that in matters that vitally con- cern the workers of this locality their keen inter- est will be stimulated. For that reason the South Wales Conference on Educational Recon- struction which is being held under the auspices of the Workers' Educational Association at the C.W.S. Buildings, St. Mary-street, Cardiff, on Saturday, July 7th, will not only arouse but keep their attention. Mr. J. T. datworthy, president of the Coaltrimmers' Union, will take the chair, and the names of snoo speakers as Mr. F. W. Tawney, tutor of the W.E.A., Mr. J. M. MacTavish, General Secretary of the W.E.A., and Mr. Tom Richards, M.P:. the very well-known secretary of the South Wales Miners .Federation, vouch for the excellence and prac- ticality of the schemes of educational reform they will outline.